The present invention relates to stud fasteners in general, and more particularly to a male stud fastener that is integrally formed onto a drapery track fitting such as a carrier or end cap for mating with a female socket.
Previously, metallic snap fasteners have been used for attaching drapery to track, particularly in the marine industry and industrial truck cabs where strength and convenience is essential. In the past, the type of drapery material used is stout and robust, as it has greater utility than for style and appearance only and is designed for constant use in these nautical or over-the-road applications. Prior art, in other window covering applications, use varied approaches for attachment and pleating, such as hooks, loops, etc. Channel and tee-shaped drapery tracks are also well known in the industry, along with slides and carriers that are contained within or on top of the track. It is not uncommon to develop a specific approach for mounting not only drapes, but skirts and other fabric materials. Snap fasteners made by Dot, Scoval, and a host of others, dominate the market and are readily available, however, some attempt has been made in the past to copy the basic usefulness with fasteners that utilize the resilient qualities of thermoplastic instead of spring metal. It has been found however that these other devices are not as strong or positive as the so-called snap fastener that uses a spring ring within a metallic disk shaped to accomplish the gripping effect. It should be noted that this type of fastener has had a long and successful history, as they have been used extensively in the clothing industry for closures in jackets, shirts, etc., they have also been in constant use for fastening leather and sporting goods for decades.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention, however, the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,881 of Tucker is for a support frame for a rail based tonneau cover for a pick-up truck. The support frame has a pivotable portion permitting access to the bed without removing the cover form the rails. A latching mechanism is accessible only upon lowering the tailgate of the truck with the latching mechanism and support are interconnected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,084, issued to Baker, discloses a friction slider for attachment to struts of a stay. The body is formed of metal and is shaped to be retained within the channel of the stay. A plastic skin overlays the metal to separate it from the stay during use. Adjustment means accommodate the necessary friction between the slider, channel and stay.
Downey""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,635 teaches an apparatus for removably attaching a cover to a pick-up truck having a male stud which fastens to a channel-shaped plastic extrusion. The fastening elements each have a rigid snap portion with a trapezoidal-shaped terminal end that is fixed in spaced relationship to the cover. A lip is formed about each snap portion that engages flanges on the extrusion, and the snap portion is rectangular in shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,993 issued to Billbury is for a fastening device for securing a cover to a square boat frame. The device has a pair of resilient arms that extend outwardly from one side of the base wall member and include a gripping hook on the distal end for hooking around the radial edges of the boat rail.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,895 of Meshaka is for a drapery snap attachment to connect to a horizontal traverse track. Cooperating snap members attach to a carrier which is movable along the track in a fixed orientation facing pleated drapery. A T-shaped member is fixed to the base and is provided for each pleated portion of the drape.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,097, issued to Pettibone, discloses a skirting support system for mounting a skirt to an edge of an article of furniture having a slide with a male stud attached for securing the skirt. Fasteners are disposed at the outer surface of the clip face portion. A track is disposed in a slot in the furniture and the clips interface with the track. Skirting is coupled to the clips and the clips and fasteners are hidden from view by the upper portion of the track member.
Hess""s U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,249 is for drapery installations having two panels slideably suspended from a support rod and adapted to be moved together or apart. When the panels are brought together, the intermediate fabric is collapsed and concealed between the flaps and portions of the panels.
In marine recreational vehicle, aircraft and trucking applications, drapes are used in cabins, sleepers and cabs of this type of vehicle. These drapes are usually heavy durable woven or plastic fabric and are attached with fasteners to metallic or thermoplastic track that is mounted directly to the interior structural wall of the boat or vehicle. Unlike residences and commercial buildings, this window covering must be securely attached as vibration and shock loading is constantly encountered. A channel-shaped track is ideal for this rugged application, as it securely holds fasteners within and is easily bent to fit the contour of the interior of the boat or vehicle. Normally track is installed with threaded fasteners penetrating the web of the track and slideable carriers or slides are disposed within the track itself. These carriers have, in the past, included a metallic stud for a snap fastener manufactured by Dot, Scoval, or the like. The snap fastener is well known in the art and has been in use for decades. The so-called snap action is obtained by the use of a spring locking ring placed inside a round socket and when forced upon a tapered stud, the spring expands and snaps over the stud holding it securely in place.
Since the stud is a separate element and requires attachment to the fastener, it is a primary object of the invention to mold the stud directly into the fitting, simplifying construction and eliminating the possibility of the stud coming loose from the fastener. While only the carrier or slide has been discussed, the track normally employs an end cap that covers each exposed end of the track. These caps are mounted to the interior surface with screws similar to those used to hold the track and serve the purpose of encapsulating the carriers in track, securing the ends and also to attach the drapes at each end. Again, prior art has used a metallic stud attached to the end cap where the instant invention now includes an integral molded-in stud configured in the same overall manner as the carrier.
A significant object of the invention is the inwardly tapered slope on the external surface of the stud. This angular slope is very important to the functioning of the invention as the metal studs that are in common use today have radial surfaces on the outside that coincide with the shape of the metal ring inside the female socket therefore the invention does not identically duplicate the shape of its metallic counterpart. The metal stud has a mushroom shaped rounded upper protruding rim that creates an inward radial curve contiguously receiving the socket spring. Through much experimentation and development it has been found that a slope of 5 degrees is optimum to not only hold the female socket in place but to continually urge it tightly upon the molded stud. Presently the metal female sockets have formed wire snap rings inside that vary in diameter to change the amount of pressure to release it from the stud. With the continual slope of 5 degrees the taper always pulls the socket into place regardless of the diameter of the internal snap ring, which is not the case with conventional studs making a noticeable improvement in its integrity while still permitting the desired release pressure. This novel feature saves expensive tooling and simplifies production methods in the injection molding process.
An important object of the invention is that the function is not altered in any way. By molding the male stud into the fitting the utility is not changed and the strength is not compromised, as the material has sufficient structural integrity to withstand installation and removal, particularly in the application where the drapes are changed only occasionally for cleaning and repeated manipulation is not the usual operational procedure.
While it does not appear on the surface to be a particularly labor intensive task to attach a metallic stud to a thermoplastic fitting with a pull type rivet or a threaded fastener, it must be remembered that three separate items must be purchased, inventoried and handled, as well as the necessary hand labor for such an installation. In production, any reduction in labor and material is greatly sought after, particularly when the function is not affected in any way.
Snap tape is also used in the industry in this application by attachment to carriers with the tape containing the male studs and the drapery employing the female sockets. The instant invention eliminates the need for such secondary elements, thus simplifying the installation considerably. It is now possible to attach the socket directly onto the drape or, if still desired, only a single piece of tape with the sockets attached may be secured onto the drape.
Another object of the invention is that the integral stud works equally well on easy, medium and hard action sockets. The stud has more than enough strength and rigidity to receive the various spring socket tensions that are available in today""s industry.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.